On April 27 1865 the American Consul requested the arrest of Walter Horace Lennox Maxwell. The Police Department in St Louis, Missouri, telegrammed the American Consul in New Zealand with details of the alleged murder committed by Maxwell and a description of what he looked like and the name of the ship he had boarded in San Francisco, setting sail for Auckland, New Zealand. Maxwell also went under the name of Hugh Mottram Brooks but used the name Walter Horace Lennox Maxwell as an alias.

On April 5 Walter Horace Lennox Maxwell left the Southern Hotel in St Louis, Missouri, USA. Whilst at the hotel he spent a significant amount of time with his friend Charles Preller. When checking out of the hotel, Maxwell stated that he and Preller were travelling for a few days and would be returning to collect their baggage. On April 14 an unusual odour from Maxwell’s room was investigated and Preller’s partly decomposed body was found in a trunk inside the room. Empty bottles of chloroform were found in the room and the cause of death was confirmed as chloroform poisoning in the autopsy.

By the time the body was discovered, Maxwell had made his way to San Francisco and boarded the steamer, City of Sydney, which was destined for Auckland. By the time he arrived in New Zealand, the telegram shown here alerted authorities. The cost of sending the telegram was $3.34USD a word – a staggering cost of $517.70USD to send the complete message. Two police officers from the St Louis Police Department travelled to New Zealand to take hold of Maxwell. On his return to St Louis he faced trial for murder, under the name of Hugh Mottram Brooks. In June 1886 Brooks was found guilty of murder and was hanged in August 1888.

The item shown above is from the Justice Department correspondence related to Maxwell’s arrival and extradition to the USA.

Reference: R24525415 ACGS 16211 J1 381/ae 1885/1217

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